Bros star Luke Goss claims that his original paintings have been valued at £291 MILLION ahead of his 18-piece exhibition in Los Angeles
- The drummer, 52, is set to exhibit his 18-piece collection, entitled Love And Faith in Los Angeles at the weekend
- Love And Faith is the the first collection to be released entirely backed by non-fungible tokens [NFTs]
- An NFT is an unique digital asset that acts as certificates of ownership, such as Bitcoin
It has been claimed that Luke Goss’ original collection of paintings have been valued at an eye-watering £291 million.
The Bros drummer, 52, fell in love with painting during the Covid lockdown, and is now set to exhibit his collection, entitled Love And Faith in Los Angeles at the weekend.
Love And Faith, which features 18 pieces of original artwork, will be entirely backed by non-fungible tokens [NFTs] making it the first collection to be released this way.
An NFT is an unique digital asset that acts as certificates of ownership, such as Bitcoin. NFTs can be used to represent items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files.
Impressive: Luke Goss, 52, has claimed he has had his first collection of paintings valued at £291million and will exhibit 18 pieces of original artwork in LA at the weekend
Proud: Speaking of his upcoming exhibition, Luke said: ‘Painting was a new frontier for me as an artist, and part of the fun was breaking new ground’ (pictured: Luke’s 2020 artwork)
Art dealers reportedly predicted that Luke could fetch up to £291 million [$411 million] at his American auction.
Speaking about his upcoming exhibition, Luke told The Daily Star: ‘Painting was a new frontier for me as an artist, and part of the fun was breaking new ground.’
Of his decision to have his artwork backed by NFTs, the musician added: ‘When I first learned about NFTs and how they can establish a stronger connection between the art and the people who appreciate it, I knew that was another pioneering space I had to be involved with.’
First time: Luke’s Love And Faith collection will be entirely backed by non-fungible tokens, making it the first collection to be released this way (pictured: Luke’s 2019 artwork)
Luke – who will personally arrange and light his collection – concluded: ‘As a foundation in our society, never before has Love and Faith been needed more.’
What are NFTs?
What is a NFT?
A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is a unique digital token encrypted with an artist’s signature and which verifies its ownership and authenticity and is permanently attached to the piece.
What do they look like?
Most NFTs include some kind digital artwork, such as photos, videos, GIFs, and music. Theoretically, anything digital could be turned into a NFT.
Where do you buy them?
At the moment, NFTs are most commonly sold in so-called ‘drops’, timed online sales by blockchain-backed marketplaces like Nifty Gateway, Opensea and Rarible.
Why would I want to own one?
There’s an array of reasons why someone may want to buy a NFT. For some, the reason may be emotional value, because NFTs are seen as collectors items. For others, they are seen as an investment opportunity similar to cryptocurrencies, because the value could increase.
When were NFTs created?
Writer and podcaster Andrew Steinwold traced the origins of NFTs back to 2012, with the creation of the Colored Coins cryptocurrency. But NFTs didn’t move into the mainstream until five years later, when the blockchain game CryptoKitties began selling virtual cats in 2017.
Discussing how non-fungible tokens could be the future, Ed Rodriguez, CEO of BPN Capital Group – who are managing Luke’s collection – said: ‘Luke’s collection is a prime example of the type of real-world assets that NFTs represent.
‘By tokenising this collection, we can democratise ownership of these extremely valuable works of art.
‘Pairing their stake with a serigraph of Luke’s work makes blockchain and NFTS feel real and tangible.’
Last year, Luke spoke about how he began using painting as creative outlet, explaining how it helped calm him during the pandemic.
He told The Daily Mail in August: ‘During lockdown, I filled my home studio with unnecessary gadgets, wrote two screenplays with my writing buddy and started painting — I just fell in love with it.
‘I’m on my 12th picture now — big, big canvases — and work on each one for 12 to 18 hours a day. I wouldn’t be a painter if it wasn’t for the lockdown.’
Born in South London, Luke found fame with his twin, Matt, in Eighties pop band Bros.
After Bros split acrimoniously in 1992, he moved with his ex-wife Shirley to LA and forged a career in acting, appearing in the Hellboy and Blade franchises.
Luke and Matt reunited in 2017 for a comeback concert.
A documentary about their reunion, Bros: After The Screaming Stops, was released in 2018.
Matt confirmed at the time that the pair were now in talks over another film which they are both incredibly excited about.
He said: ‘We’re talking about the next film, we’re excited about it. We’re definitely in talks about a new film.’
Luke added: ‘I didn’t think in my wildest dreams we’d end up here. The fact that we have a nomination is a wonderful validation.’
Last October, Luke hit headlines when he revealed he had secretly split from his wife Shirley three years prior.
The couple – who wed in 1994 – denied reports in 2019 that their marriage had ended, but he’s now confirmed they haven’t been together for a long time as she left the US to return to England to be closer to her family.
He added: ‘As a foundation in our society, never before has Love and Faith been needed more’ (pictured: Luke’s 2020 artwork)
Reflecting a road trip he made to the desert in 2017, he told The Sunday Times magazine: ‘I was in a bad place in my life and decided to go camping alone.
‘I’d just split from my wife. I’ve never admitted to this publicly but she moved back to England to be closer to her daughter and family. We are officially separated now but still best friends. I will love her to my dying day.’
The musician has been in a relationship with Shirley for 33 years.
Brothers: Born in South London, Luke found fame with his twin, Matt, in Eighties pop band Bros. They split acrimoniously in 1992 but reunited in 2017
Luke admitted it was a ‘hard step’ to split from Shirley and not only do they speak regularly, he still loves her very much and said she is the most ‘remarkable woman he has ever met.’
Luke said that his love for Shirley has ‘never wavered’ and said ‘she has dreams of her own to pursue’ but that he will go and visit her in the UK soon.
The couple last made a public outing together at the BAFTAs in May 2019 and put on a loving display despite rumours they had already split up at this point.
Sad news: Last October, Luke hit headlines when he revealed he had secretly split from his wife Shirley three years prior (pictured at the BAFTAs in May 2019)
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